Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for November 26th

Continue reading for a summary of recent news stories relating to some of the most pressing issues on the continent. We draw on a wide range of respected news sources, both from Africa itself and around the world. The themes of today's In the News post are updates on the conflict in Central African Republic, Angola's religious policies, Mali's seemingly peaceful elections, suppression of freedom of the press in East Africa, efforts to shut down the LRA, conflict between Tanzania and its large donors, and attention on food security across the continent.

A catastrophe in the making?
A political crisis in the Central African Republic is on the verge of spiraling out of control. The country of 4.6m people has been in turmoil ever since a rebel group known as Séléka ousted President François Bozizé in March. Human-rights groups say abuses have multiplied. UN and American officials have gone so far as to warn that the conflict is at risk of leading to "genocide." – The Economist
To read more, please visit the Economist site here.

Angola 'bans Islam, shuts down mosques'
Angola has reportedly become the first country ever to ban Islam and to shut down mosques, according to reports.  Daily Mail quoted the Minister of Culture Rosa Cruz e Silva as saying mosques in the largely Christian country would be closed until further notice. – News 24
To read more, please visit the News 24 site here.

Mali: scrutin sans incident majeur, Louis Michel salue 'un nouveau succès'
"En dépit des quelques incidents survenus dans le Nord, d'ampleur limitée", les élections législatives maliennes se sont déroulées "paisiblement", s'est félicité, lundi, Louis Michel, chef des observateurs européens. – Jeune Afrique
Pour en lire plus, veuillez visiter le site Jeune Afrique ici.

East African governments turn on vibrant media in bid to stem criticism
In Kenya, one of Africa's bastions of democracy, a new bill threatens to impose stiff penalties on journalists for articles deemed harmful by the government. In neighbouring Tanzania, which Barack Obama visited this summer, the government has shut down independent newspapers. And in Burundi, a new law forces journalists to reveal sources or face heavy fines. – The Guardian
To read more, please visit the Guardian site here.

UN urges new effort to wipe out LRA and get Kony
The U.N. Security Council urged new efforts Monday to end attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army, release all people abducted by the brutal African rebel group and send its notorious leader Joseph Kony to the International Criminal Court for prosecution for crimes against humanity. – Stars and Stripes
To read more, please visit the Stars and Stripes site here.

Donors demand Tanzania refund stolen aid millions
Six donor countries are demanding that the Tanzanian government gives back more than Sh600 million ($373,000) stolen by state officials under a programme meant to reform local government.  The Citizen on Sunday weekly has established that Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Japan and Germany have jointly written to the ministry of Finance asking for the refund.  In total, these countries donated 16 million euros (nearly Sh35bn, $21.7 million) from 2009 to 2012 to fund the roll-out of the second phase of the five-year Local Government Reform Programme (LGRP), which has a budget of Sh66.6bn.  They say the money was pilfered by corrupt government officials charged with implementing LGRP II. – Africa Review
To read more, please visit the Africa Review site here.

Africa: Science's role in growing diverse, nutritious food
Food security is an issue that touches all aspects of the development agenda, from agriculture and environmental management to economics, governance and social equality. It is also a challenge with no simple solution. But one thing is clear. If food production is to rise by 70 per cent by 2050 to feed the rising population, as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts it must, we must do more with less. How to achieve this jump in food production sustainably is "one of the big questions of our time", says Sieg Snapp, a professor of soil and cropping systems at Michigan State University in the United States. – allAfrica
To read more, please visit the allAfrica site here.